How does comparative negligence affect my school bus accident claim?
In Washington, comparative negligence affects a school bus accident claim by assigning each party a percentage of fault. Basically, comparative negligence is an approach to personal injury law that assigns fault to each party involved in an accident. In a school bus accident, comparative negligence may apply if it is determined that the driver, other drivers, or even pedestrians acted negligently (either before, during, or after the accident) and if it can be reasonably guessed that such negligence contributed to the accident. The general rule is that if the plaintiff (the injured person filing a claim) is found to be more than 50% at fault, then they may not be eligible to receive any compensation. If found to be 50% or less at fault, the plaintiff’s damages award will typically be reduced in proportion to their degree of fault. For example, if the plaintiff was found to be 15% at fault, then their damages award would be reduced by 15%. In Washington, comparative negligence applies to all school bus accident claims. It is important to understand that the comparative negligence approach allows the court to assign fault to both parties and assign each party a percentage of fault, rather than assigning only one party all fault. This approach gives a more accurate picture of the situation, and it may be beneficial to the plaintiff in some cases.
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